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Hello babies!
Got any great travel plans? We don't! In this episode, Lisa successfully blurbs a book, Emily is still considering starting the podcast about wiping ass. On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for "Mariko Aoki phenomenon," a Japanese expression referring to an urge to defecate that is suddenly felt after entering bookstores. Scientists are clamoring to find an explanation. Show notes

Baby Geniuses

Baby Geniuses is a show for people who know stuff and people who don't know stuff, but would like to. Every week, comedian and super-genius Emily Heller and cartoonist and mastermind Lisa Hanawalt, challenge their guests to share some knowledge on any topic they want.

Hope you’re having a very spooktacular season! Lisa had a creepy experience recently, but not the fun kind of creepy. Emily preps her Halloween costume. If you’re a long time fan of the show, you’ll recognize it immediately! On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon.” We welcome comedian/actor/writer John Early, who has some thoughts about the 2015 Meryl Streep film Ricki and the Flash. On Expert Hour, we are joined by St. Louis native Mary Merry, who is excited to share her original Super Bowl party appetizer recipes. Quite timely!

What is your word of the year? We have a few fun and totally not sad options for this year. Emily has a weird, creepy experience with some curtains. Curtains aren’t supposed to do that! Lisa gets a terrible DM on Instagram. On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “List of premature obituaries.” A premature obituary is an obituary published whose subject is not actually deceased at the time of publication. Who knew not dying could be so fun? We welcome “writer” Jess Dweck who had a particularly bad Airbnb experience. On Expert Hour, we are joined by Ricky Tarps, who gives us some creative pointers on how to eat on a budget.

Lisa is finally getting around to watching The Sopranos in its entirety, so we’re finally getting around to discussing how James Gandolfini is actually kind of hunky. Well, specifically, when he was alive. On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “Republic of Molossia,” a micronation in the United States founded by Kevin Baugh (b. July 30, 1962) and headquartered at his home near Dayton, Nevada. Road trip, anyone? We welcome musician Patty Schemel, who had an interesting mole related experience recently. On Expert Hour, we are joined by actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr, who teaches us a few ways to help us lead greener lives.

Maybe this is actually our five year anniversary show? I’m a little confused. Anyways, Emily celebrated a different anniversary recently by staying at the Disneyland hotel and accomplishing the impossible: eating the correct amount of edibles. Lisa recently watched The Craft (1996) and got nightmares. On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for "Frozen Dead Guy Days," an annual celebration held in the town of Nederland, Colorado, to loosely celebrate the 1994 discovery of the cryonic statecorpse of Bredo Morstoel. We welcome Lindy West, who has the very continental Gilbert's Syndrome. On Expert Hour, we are joined by Hollywood's #1 party boy Chud Cubner.

It’s our five year anniversary episode! Won’t you come celebrate with us? The traditional five year anniversary gift is wood. We’re registered at iTunes, please give us a five star review and just leave us your favorite kind of wood (mahogany, birch, etc). No gross jokes please! On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for "Cobra Effect." This is surprisingly not about a Steven Segal movie! We welcome Eliot Glazer, who watches The View more than anyone really should. On Expert Hour, we are joined by fan favorite guest Jacob Jasmine to give us more etiquette tips.

Emily is doing some shows in Texas this week! If you’re in the general vicinity of Texas make it a point to check her out and let her make you laugh! Is the brown noise real? On that note, when was the last time you laughed so hard you peed your pants? Was it this decade? Have you ever made someone pee their Levi’s? On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “Margaret Howe Lovatt,” a volunteer naturalist from Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands, who took part in a NASA-funded research project in which she attempted to teach a dolphin named Peter to understand and mimic human speech. She used some unconventional methods in attempt to achieve her goal. We welcome Demi Adejuyigbe, who tells us the tale of Lincoln’s grave robbers. On Expert Hour, we are joined by brand consultant James Courtneay-Breadwich.

Have you seen Emily on tour this summer? Go do it if you live near a city! Have you bought a Ban Chunch shirt yet? Go buy one, unless you live somewhere that doesn’t have a post office. In that case, you probably have other things to worry about. On today’s episode, we struggle with impulse control. Also, we answer a difficult question from a listener. On Wiki of the Week, we read the section from the Wikipedia page for “Squatting Position,” titled, “Hunkerin’.” It was so popular it was suggested to world leaders to solve their problems! We welcome Nick Thune, who just got off tour with Emily. He has a really fun early career story about working in reality TV. On Expert Hour, we are joined by fast food refrigeration expert Tony Jacaloni-Stein.

First things first: Go buy a Chunch shirt and go see Emily on tour this summer! lisahanawalt.threadless.com and emilyheller.tumblr.com respectively. On today’s episode, Lisa has a frustrating online purchase experience. Also on today’s episode, Emily has a frustrating customer service experience. On Chunch Chat, Martha has been doing some garden tours and showing off Banchunch. Emily gives Lisa a Chunch themed gift. On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “Curse of the Colonel,” which refers to an urban legend regarding a reputed curse placed on the Japanese Kansai-based Hanshin Tigers baseball team by deceased KFC founder and mascot Colonel Harland Sanders. We welcome Zach Sherwin, who has a fun KFC connection. On Expert Hour, we are joined by professional paid protestor Winston James.

Summer is in full effect! Emily overdid it at Disney’s California Adventure and threw up, which ranks as the third most interesting thing to do at Disney's California Adventure. Lisa has a hot take on Josh Gadd and Ed Sheeran. Can they really be as bad as we want them to be? Also on the episode, we discuss the rules of karaoke and which fictional characters (specifically animated) were the most horny-inducing. On Chunch Chat, Lisa made some Banchunch shirts! Go buy one at lisahanawalt.threadless.com . On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “Lapland New Forest,” which was a Christmas-themed park that existed for a brief period in December 2008, near Ringwood, Hampshire, UK. The park really captures the disappointment that a lot of people feel during the holidays. We welcome Andrew Ti, who spends a lot of time arguing with creationists and racists online. On Expert Hour, we are joined by television superstar and author Kelsey Grammer.

And a special hello to all you fans of Frasier out there! There are at least three references to our favorite show. See if you can find them all, or if I missed any! THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS: Emily visited The Thing, an Arizona roadside attraction. If you don’t want to know what The Thing is, please fast forward. On Chunch Chat, we not only celebrate the return of Banchunch, but his victory in the Pleasure Class at the Bedford Riding Lanes Association BRLA! We’re just happy to hear that he’s alive. On Wiki of the Week, we read the Wikipedia page for “Balloonfest ’86,” a 1986 event in which the United Way of Cleveland in Ohio set a world record by releasing almost one and a half million balloons. People died. We welcome Jen D’Angelo, who has great taste in media. She is a huge fan of the film “Rat Race” (2001) and TV’s “Friends.” On Expert Hour, we are joined by recent high school grad and movie buff Meghan Murphy, who has great taste in movies and unfortunate taste in older men.